November 17, 2014

Weekly Menu November 17

Outside my window... 'Tis a sunny, blustery, freezing kind of day. I'm staying in here where it's warm. Our cherry trees have finally accepted their fate (and the date) and are full of crinkly brown leaves. I'm thinking of pulling my baby blueberry bushes into the garage... I know they're supposed to be able to survive winters, but I can't stop worrying about them! I'm a little bit bummed that I never got to see their Fall colors...

I am thankful... I am thankful for Netflix and Vicks and cozy socks. I'm thankful for people to feed, the smell of softening onions, favorite wooden spoons, dutch ovens and a fantastic stove. I'm thankful for the fact that my kids still want their grandparents to "come home" every night, and never want them to move into their own house. Even though once they see Grandma and Grandpa's new house, they might never want to come back home...

In the kitchen... Baking up some last minute treats, setting aside some recipes for the next few weeks, and of course, planning our Thanksgiving menu! I'm seriously tempted to make four desserts... Is that overkill? It's my only excuse to make pumpkin pie and apple pie, as the Geologist doesn't care about either, but also a rare excuse to go all out and make something epic, like gingersnap cheesecake, or spices pear cranberry pie... So much inspiration out there!!

A peek into my day... My poor Joe is home from school with an awful cough. I think the only thing worse than the stomach flu is a bad cough. It's so hard to sleep, he can't go to school, and you just know a cough like this won't be gone overnight. He LOVES school, he's so bummed to miss it! And the week before Thanksgiving break! It's just not fair. He's a very cheerful sick kid though, I'll give him that! Doesn't even complain when I make him nap. I just hope he gets better fast!!

I am reading... It's been a while since I have reported on what I was reading, because in all honesty I'm usually reading total fluff. Lots of fantasy, sci-fi, cozy English life stuff, re-reading classics for the zillionth time... yeah, I'm not the most erudite reader out there. (But I can use spiffy words!!) At the moment I'm reading little Stephen's current favorite book, The Mysterious Benedict Society. His babysitter recommended it and it sounded so intriguing that I had to give it a shot. It's fantastic, I love it! It's clever, and funny, and original. Bare bones, it's about a group of kids gathered together to save the world. No magic, no evil warlord, just clever kids with useful skills and a mysterious villain. Stephen doesn't know it yet, but I'm buying the series for him for Christmas!

I am thinking... Do I really have to spend 20 bucks on primer to get eyeshadow to stay put?! Why on earth does smearing Vicks on your feet help a cough? Seriously, someone explain the science of that to me. Has anyone else noticed that Tom Hanks puts an olive in his Dad's drink twice in You've Got Mail? Same olive. Sweetest rom-com ever, by the way. Will I ever learn to sit up straight? Is this winter weather here to stay? Just a few of the random things flitting around inside my head.

Around the house... I miss having a Christmas tree upstairs... I really really really want a real tree, but the living room feels empty without a tree... I must hold out!! Wait for a old-fashioned forest-y one!! Our very first married Christmas together, I was a bit homesick for the Christmas tree cutting outings with my family, even though we had a perfectly nice fake tree The Geologist inherited from his family. The day before Christmas Eve, The Geologist took me to Walmart and we bought a semi-live tree for a fraction of its price, and that is still one of the sweetest gifts he has ever given me. It only lasted a week or two, it was half dead, but our apartment smelled like Christmas.

I am looking forward to...Well, Thanksgiving, obviously, but I waxed... not quite poetic, at least verbose, about our upcoming Thanksgiving last week, so moving on. Looking forward to having my Geologist home for ten days, for our trip up into the mountains on some as-yet-decided weekend to cut down our tree. I'm looking forward to Christmas choir concerts and Christmas baking and lights and more snow.

One of my favorite things... Okay, so you know I'm not the most chocoholic girl out there, and chocolate chips aren't really my thing. Until I discovered mini chocolate chips! Before using them, I assumed they were kind of useless. Ah, how wrong I was! First of all, they're much prettier for sprinkling on the tops of things, and being little and light, don't weigh down the top surface of whatever it is you're decorating.

Sounds like a wonderful week! As far as four desserts, there is definitely nothing wrong with that! Just if you actually have time to do them, maybe 2 days before for one of them, and 2-3 the day before? I'm sure your family will love whatever number you do, 1, 2, 3 or 4 :)

Welcome!

My mother has always said I could be sitting on a corner with a lollipop and be perfectly happy. My favorite things are the little ones; the seemingly insignificant details of my life as a wife, mother, and silly little girl at heart. The only thing that makes me happier than discovering these delights is sharing them! I love to cook, read, sing, adventure with my 3 little reasons for Mom-ing, snuggle with my beastie of a dog, and laugh with my best friend, my husband The Geologist. I hope you enjoy my adventures in food (and life) as much as I do!